1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pleasure boat, fishing boat and yacht marine craft, in general, and to onboard systems employed for cooling their engines and for operating their onboard toilets and refrigerators, in particular.
2. Description of the Related Art
As will be understood, rivers, large lakes and open waters where these craft may travel typically contain natural weed growth, algae, leaves and like accumulations—as well as unnatural debris such as plastic bags, cloth rags, paper products, etc. Although attempts are taken to prevent the entry of all these materials into the intake conduits of the craft to prevent them from fouling pumps and filters, oftentimes, the thruhole fittings become clogged. On such occasions, it is not unusual for an occupant of the vessel to enter the water himself/herself to try to unclog the water intake conduit by hand. When no one on the craft is willing to enter the water where, for example, extensive weed growth is present, the solution is to call for a tow to bring the craft to a service area where an experienced technician would attempt to clear the fitting. On the other hand, where the clogging takes place while the craft is in the bay or on the sea, almost no one is ever willing to go into the very deep water to try to clear the fitting from below; there, the call for assistance is almost always made. This is especially the situation where the water intake conduit becomes clogged by barnacles which grow inside the conduit.
In all these situations of clogging, depending on the conditions, the marine engine shuts off, the onboard toilet does not flush or the refrigerator stops working. In each instance, it becomes necessary to manually clear the intake conduit, and from outside the craft.